Get Away to the Yukon -- All Aboard!

Note: I originally wrote this article in 2014 but never published it. I'm publishing it now because much of the information is still relevant, especially for travelers who are planning their first ferry cruise. The ferry service has undergone many changes in the last few years, and I encourage you to add comments based on your own experiences.

Most people travel south on their spring break.

We went to the Yukon.

When you live in Juneau, Alaska, options for a weekend get-away are limited only by your imagination and your desire not to purchase round-trip airfare to Seattle. Knowing we have summer plans to visit Gustavus, Sitka and Pelican, we looked north, taking the Alaska Marine Highway up the Lynn Canal to Skagway, gateway to the Klondike, then continuing with the pickup on the Klondike Highway which somewhat follows the trail of the 1898 Gold Rush, over White Pass, into Canada's Yukon Territory and to the city of Whitehorse.

Sunrise over Auke Bay

The Alaska Marine Highway System is one of the main ways people, vehicles and cargo get around in Southeast Alaska. The communities of Southeast are locked in by sea, mountains and glaciers. The only ways to travel are by boat or air. Riding the ferry up the Lynn Canal is the equivalent to driving on I-95 on the East Coast.

We reserved our tickets two weeks earlier and picked them up at the Juneau office on Glacier Highway two days prior to our departure. Roundtrip to Skagway was $50 for me and $111 for the truck. The driver's passage was free but only during winter months.

During winter months, arriving at the ferry terminal one hour prior to departure provides plenty of time to check in and get a lane assignment for the car; however, in summer, travelers with vehicles should arrive two hours prior to departure. It is especially important to be on time when you are traveling with a vehicle. Built in 1974, the MV LeConte can hold 300 passengers, 24 crew, 34 vehicles and nine vans. Space on the car deck is finite, and if you are late with a vehicle, they simply run out of room, and your car will not get on the ferry -- and that's that.

The MV LeConte is one of eleven vessels that serve the Alaska Marine Highway System.

The Leconte is scheduled for a major overhaul during winter 2014-15, and until then it seems to be prone to breaking down with occasional interruption of service. Passengers should check the AMHS website periodically for information about possible schedule changes. 

Tickets and IDs are checked prior to boarding. The purser peeked into the truck bed to make sure we had no stow-aways -- a stern warning is posted on the gate regarding stow-aways. 

Vehicles park on the lower car deck. Parking attendants guide you as you drive down the ramp, swing around and back your car into a spot. Big trucks and vehicles with trailers have to back down the ramp from the parking lot and back onto the ferry. 

Recliners in the forward lounge of the MV LeConte provide a comfortable place to read, nap and look for whales and porpoises.

With the truck parked on the car deck below, we stowed our soft cooler of food on the upper solarium deck then retreated to the forward lounge for a quick morning nap and to recharge after a 4:15 a.m. alarm to be at the ferry by 6 a.m.

A ride on one of Alaska's ferries is a more personal experience than what you get on a commercial cruise. 

The sun rose over Auke Bay as the MV LeConte pulled away from the ferry terminal dock at 7 a.m. on March 28th. The weather was spot on -- sunny, blue skies, and 40+ degrees daytime temps. It was one of those first warm days of spring that northern inhabitants anticipate all winter.

Passengers nap in sleeping bags on reclining chairs under the heating lamps on the solarium deck.

After a brief rest (or nap in Roger's case), we retrieved our cooler from the solarium deck and found a table in the cafeteria. We packed a soft cooler of cold foods and a second cooler with dry goods. Our food plan for the weekend was to eat our own breakfasts, snacks, and lunches and to dine out for dinners. I didn't see signs, but it seemed clear that food should be eaten in the cafeteria dining room. Many people bring their own food, although the ferry service is notorious for the quality and generous portions of its fare. Besides daily specials, they offer burgers, fries, fish and chips, salads, sandwiches, desserts, yogurt, cereal and fruit. On a previous ferry trip, I had a deliciously satisfying halibut curry served on brown rice. We plan to have dinner on the ferry on our return trip Sunday evening. Today our picnic breakfast included Greek yogurt, sliced fresh strawberries and granola.

Ferry service provides a safe, reliable, efficient and comfortable method transportation, connecting the communities and people of Alaska with Canada and the lower 48.

As we travel north-northwest at 15.7 knots, I have difficulty closing my eyes, not wanting to miss the spray of a whale, the dance of a porpoise or a single, rugged mountaintop. I'm from Maine, and I know rugged coastline. I tell my Maine friends, imagine copying and pasting Mount Katahdin up and down the entire Maine coastline -- that's Southeast Alaska.

Scanning the rugged coastline, it's difficult for me to imagine where a road would go or who would want to drive on it when the ferry offers a perfectly comfortable and direct passage as ships have for hundreds of years or more? The controversial "Juneau access road" has been debated in Alaska for many years. A road will never replace the unique adventure one can experience on the Alaska Marine Highway.